Teen pleads not guilty to Richmond jeweller raid stopped by OAP

4:19pm Friday 21st November 2008

A 17-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with snatching two Rolex watches worth £10,000 in a daytime sledgehammer raid on a Richmond jewellers.

The youngster - who cannot be named for legal reasons - is accused of being one of two masked men who robbed Ernest Jones, in George Street, at 12:45pm on October 30 by smashing the front windows and grabbing the watches from the display.

The raid made the national news after 84-year-old William Grove intervened by confronting the robbers and ripping one of their balaclavas off and exposing his face, causing them both to flee.

The boy, who appeared in court dressed in black trousers and white t shirt, pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody until Tuesday, November 25, when a trial date is due to be fixed.